Is America’s Most Expensive Korean Barbecue Worth It?

Eater LA Editor Matthew Kang visits Kristalbelli for a different and more luxurious take of Korean Barbecue.
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[@Kotoma]

She didn't look so happy with Matthew compared this to a burger :P

[@brandonyu9602]

Kotoma respect tho. He doesnt give a f

[@kumorning5598]

she might be okay before he says 30$

[@BestEverFoodReviewShow]

Did I miss where you mention the price??

[@giabaonguyenxuan]

wow Sonny, how ur here?

[@aragusea]

Good lord, the "searing seals in juices" myth just won't die.

[@sunnysideup6708]

Yoooooo

[@mastercheif878]

wow its this guy

[@matthewarant377]

Found you in the wild!

[@reso7675]

I was not expecting to see you down here.

[@solidkingcobra]

+ 500 cool points for parodying Nick Solares.

[@BasedTitanG]

I died laughing haha

[@FirstLast-lk3dq]

Then how many points does Mark Ronson get?

[@mattbickel8288]

bro fuck Nick, I hate that guy so much.

[@Lostenso]

she looks kinda young for a restaurant GM.. and can bbq a steak.. dayyuumm

[@spp2000]

She is Asian, she could be 40 you never know.Before any of you get triggered, that's a compliment btw.

[@Lostenso]

definitely a compliment

[@chriskwak6660]

Poorna Prithvi 아이고

[@IcyShard1001]

CongoBonga lol Asians start young? I remember working for a Chinese restaurant and my manager was like 22, 23

[@Lostenso]

wow that's young. Good to know!

[@brandonyu9602]

Still a gimmick. Its just a fancy frying pan. Charcoal korean bbq is the best.

[@tetard88]

Brandon Yu charcoal bbq is the BEST. It makes a total difference. Without good charcoal, i dont count it as true korean bbq

[@thatdudebro]

it's completely different when you're eating steak that special. you don't want anything compromising the flavor. even charcoal. if it's not coming out of my pocket i'd pick this place every time. traditional korean bbq is great but cmon. dry aged wagyu ?

[@syk9855]

idol hands wrong. Meat grilled over charcoal will give a more true flavor than this fancy shit frying pan heated over a GAS stove

[@thatdudebro]

steve kno says your opinion. if someone cooked my $200 steak over charcoal i'd be upset to say the least. pan seared and salt. that's it for me.

[@ryanchow2426]

idol hands there's a difference between BBQ and the "contemporary" method of cooking like searing and such

[@pungkwon1884]

Felt like he was trying to praise it as much as he could without saying that its better than old school Korean BBQ. Which I think is great actually. He's respectful enough to his host but doesn't overdo it at the same time. That $30 burger comment is spot on imo.

[@rogerfredericks4332]

Matthew Kang is turning into one of my Favourite hosts on eater. He doesn't overdo it with the technical terms, and yet has enough of them to perfectly describe the meal he is eating.

[@ajthemagi2913]

Best part was when he made fun of Nick

[@pkflake]

aww so cute at the end

[@lenhister]

The only channel where the phrase, "Millard reaction" is mandatory to say.

[@thePowerPlant]

JYP was smart with this one. It's essentially a nice steakhouse with Korean side dishes. Profits must be nice.

[@davidyang2981]

Matthew's Nick Solares impression is 1000% on fleek though

[@crystalcoffin9536]

This guy looks like Psy

[@charlietu]

this guy = FATTER and LESS talented than Psy

[@AlexK-wp9ie]

someone is triggered

[@FirstLast-lk3dq]

You mean the guy from the Lorax

[@poserdisposer69]

he looks like jackie chan to me

[@jackevnorman]

Haven't heard anyone say that cooking at a high temperature sears in the juices for quite a while. Well, at least this was a nice reminder of how people used to think!

[@thomyi]

Man, I thought David So was working for Eater with that video thumbnail.

[@Arklon4758]

She is cute.

[@John77Doe]

Arklon It's the blonde hair. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@kemp1222]

Mike Smith Another sex god patrolling the KZbin comments section.

[@baniyangpertin6275]

MIKE ROASTED

[@doggfather123]

that wagyu meat has less marbling than the short ribs in kang ho dong baek jong which is way cheaper

[@choichoi4858]

Denis Ho that's because they have shitty wagyu realy good wagyu is only from japan

[@PatrickYan]

Denis Ho it's not wagyu. She even admitted that it was American hybrid aka WASHUGYU. They messed up WAGYU and WASHUGYU.

[@jamisont2]

point of dry aging beef is to get more flavor out of red muscles not the fat. so using wagyu or hanwoo for that purpose is idiotic. im glad they're closed now.

[@jaimealvarez8491]

I must try this! and also..she's adorable !

[@danyoyo8991]

This guy looks like a cross between PSY and David So

[@ipeenickels]

danyoyo Lmao

[@CycocelVocalist]

this guy looks like David So's younger brother

[@JerryJerk]

I like Matthew Kang, He is cool. Not lucas cool, but cool. Keep it up!

[@Lostenso]

JerryJerk agree!

[@fb079]

JerryJerk no body is Lucas cool

[@rights9620]

Lucas cool is a league of its own xD

[@charlespascual9304]

i like this comment thread XD so true lol

[@przcouldyou123]

why u guys not at 1 mil yet

[@eater]

Spread the word!

[@vishnooze]

Any chance you can tell what tracks you used for the BGM @ 2:43 and 4:35....?? They're pretty good... And as an incentive for your trouble I'll subscribe.... So, yeah... Your move, +Eater...

[@beeman9987]

I guess you didnt subscribe? lol

[@doohowon4672]

Authentic Korean Bbq uses high quality charcoal when it comes to beef,, that crystal pan is a just fancy gimmick I've never heard or seen in Korea

[@badfoody]

Korean girls man.... Don't care about that plastic surgery scare, they cute

[@jonathanwilliam8819]

badfoody she's american so probably never had any surgery done.

[@JKgaming1]

Jonathan William lol Americans get plastic surgery too...

[@badfoody]

JKgaming1 Doesn't matter still pretty

[@IcyFlakas]

The ratio in which americans get plastic surgery is way lower than korea's. If she was raised in the US (assuming she is), then she probably didn't get plastic surgery because American culture doesn't pressure people to get PS

[@jonathanwilliam8819]

JKgaming1 judging from her face she doesn't have double eyelids and that's the most common plastic surgery for koreans, also her jaw looks natural while if she had surgery it would look more triangle-ly. Therefor I can safely conclude that she didn't have surgery done and she is naturally pretty/knows how to use make-up.

[@mytamvo1180]

she is so cute!!! i love her hair!!! she has such a cute smile!

[@naruhina012607]

The girl is adorable

[@hlee2]

"We sear the meat to seal in the juices and the flavor" Proceeds to slice the meat on the grill

[@trevaso8374]

Works her whole life puts on her best blazer for the video Her whole staff is watching and gooofy says her food tastes like a burger . God bless

[@nicktovey2809]

Low grade wagu. dry aged beef... Is that special??

[@iSim0641]

you can tell by the marbling

[@Shyridan]

Taste it before you judge it lol

[@skyboy123454321]

dry aged low marbling beef is so much cheaper compared to wet aged well marbled meat

[@iSim0641]

shyri than I was making a Nick Solares reference hahah I know it is probably very good.

[@ggarza]

That last half second where they're both laughing = awesome

[@thanadoln]

This guy is my second favourite eater host next to lucas.

[@yummdiddy]

none of that over exaggerated eating that takes away from the authenticity of his opinion

[@travissomething3341]

That seasoning looked insanely light, even for wagyu.

[@tylerjacobson8012]

Travis Something looks basically zero.

[@94mac]

Travis Something with a steak like that you are supposed to have the bare minimum of seasoning so you can really taste the natural flavor

[@travissomething3341]

Sure but with wagyu mixed with another breed, a bit is needed. Especially when mixed with American beef.

[@bryliang]

JYP has a food business? LOL wtf

[@TheJinroKing]

American wagyu is much different from the original Japanese Wagyu. You havent tried real Wagyu until you've tried Japanese Wagyu. The biggest difference appearance wise, is that the Japanese Wagyu has more marbling, almost over 50% is all fat and it literally melts in your mouth.

[@erickim1739]

I worked at a steakhouse in the US that sold Prime, 35day dryaged cuts of beef. I had a group of 6 Japanese guys come in. 2 of them were from the US, and the other 4 were from Japan and spoke no english. They wanted to try our best cut, so I recommended them my personal favorite, the Dry aged bone in Ribeye. I also told them that I was nervous about them trying it because they have had Japanese Wagyu before where they live. After they tried it, I asked them for their brutal and honest opinion and to compare the original japanese one, and our american style. They told me that in their honest opinion, one is not better than the other, just different. The American one did not melt like the japanese one but they loved the texture of biting into it. Its not tough in any sense of the word but you feel it, compared to the meltiness of Japanese wagyu.

[@tsenaku]

I would love to see Matt and Lucas collab on a video

[@matthewkang]

It's gonna happen one day. Hopefully

[@jonlivington9179]

Matt and Nick would be interesting to see.

[@leeleecheng3299]

tsenaku cheongdamdong

[@leorickt.9604]

she is really attractive

[@edgar5828]

Leorick T. I thought I was the only one that noticed, she's cute

[@AllenHanPR]

Head to K-Town in LA.. You'll find plenty of attractive girls.

[@iamalwayscheckedinchess2206]

Leorick T. exactly

[@I_Do_Cooking_Manga]

well, that wagyu's marble is not really "awesome", i think it's a bit "so so"? sorry bcs i live in japan and some of the beef has crazy marbling

[@udcaps]

yup, matt really kills this. great episode as always gaiz

[@OCSleazy]

I wish cali had a international bbq fest.

[@shadow_2810]

Next: America's most expensive Chinese hotpot where each diner will have their own cook helping them cook food.

[@dunkingstudios]

"Inserts overly used comment"

[@FirstLast-lk3dq]

How funky.

[@jaelucard4577]

JYP

[@psychicfoodreviews9987]

Got to get me there! Thanks for posting!

[@pipesmokingbearguzzlingbas960]

When a person working at a restaurant thinks searing keeps juices sealed in x.x /facepalm.

[@FirstLast-lk3dq]

Imma sear their ass if they think that.

[@jasonchiang251]

what's the place called?

[@eater]

Kristalbelli, 8 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018

[@willzyxOfficial]

4:03 "Feels like I'm having a bite of a burger" ... Her face, that did not make her happy. Managing the fanciest Korean bbq place and this is what you get.

[@Fiend50000]

Munchies can't hold a candle to this channel.

[@greatsungkim]

Very interesting, hope to see some in LA

[@jphourcheu]

Is this restaurant closed ? I looked into internet and it says that the restaurant is closed.

[@amandalove3368]

AYCE bbq. A good selection of different meats and seafood. No more than 20ish dollars. An endless salad bar with kimchi and potato salad. I'm good.

[@3mrsx]

very fun to watch, only concern is he tried the dry-age steak, and said "it's got this funk" which is exactly how Nick Solare describes it....stop plagiarising

[@blueplanetcafe]

TheNormalOne Can George Clinton still say it?

[@Nvlutey27]

TheNormalOne Everyone describes dry aged steaks with that word, or aged food in general.

[@warray58851]

Fuck off

[@stephanoya]

Cool. I rather eat at home.

[@alexa8529]

Taste of the food 20% Marketing the food 80%

[@Crazy-su4kg]

Why call the beef Wagyu when its not from Japan?

[@eater]

Wagyu is made up of several breeds of cattle. In the US it is crossed bread with angus and is sometimes called American Wagyu or American Kobe. Thanks for watching!

[@sakurachristineito6428]

Wagyu means Japanese beef. The original cow originally has to be from Japan, but its children can be grown anywhere else in the world. That's why there are Australian Wagyu, American Wagyu and so on and so forth. If you wanna have a Japanese beef from Japan, then look for Kobe, Matsuzaka or anything that has the place of origin as its name. I hope this clarifies.

[@JL-eo1bv]

Eater don't take that.

[@Crazy-su4kg]

Well thanks guys thats informative.

[@DarkStar4269]

It can be called Wagyu outside of Japan, just not Kobe.

[@AtodaZ23]

Hmm, it looks pretty dope but I'd think that a regular grill would give the meat much more flavor than this crystal one. It's basically cooking on thick piece of glass, wouldn't that mean no smokey flavor at all? Is it still BBQ at that point? lol

[@HandlesMcCandles]

A cute girl who can cook a mean steak? Swoon

[@jaesikson5531]

Wont the crystal cover prevent the smoke from the charcoal infusing into the meat?

[@LEE-kq9tq]

So jealous..... SO jealous /drooling & crying

[@Prod.by.G4479]

I'm so proud of those korean peaple as korean :)

[@chandraprasad143]

wow! never heard of crystal grill! this is amazing.

[@santos.l.halper1999]

Haha got em.... Nicks experience would be more ethereal in nature...

[@John77Doe]

I don't think the GM dyed her eyebrows. Che needs to dye the eyebrows. 😍

[@garglerock1627]

I live is West coast of WA.. still kinda pricy, but think that's Korean barbecue in general

[@okpkmpqk]

true wagyu is NOT mixed bred stop saying fake wagyu as a true one

[@dylang2255]

okpkmpqk no one cares

[@okpkmpqk]

it means u wont care about the difference between bass and gold thats interesting

[@bertlee3470]

i was thinking the same thing. its the fake version. her explanation was confusing

[@vishnooze]

Any chance you can tell what tracks you used for the BGM @ 2:43 and 4:35....?? They're pretty good... And as an incentive for your trouble I'll subscribe.... So, yeah... Your move, +Eater....

[@limegpt]

I looked up the prices and it is pretty expensive. Around $60/lb for regular meat then over $100/lb for the wagyu

[@patrickhammer1]

Love your clips! What's the name of the tune dropping at around 3.00-3.30min?

[@SwordofManticorE]

This is similar to Japanese Teppanyaki, but looks way better.

[@mikeg5172]

I cant believe people are still saying that none sense "sear it to lock in the juices" lol, steak is not a water balloon, the flavor isnt going to pour out of it. Especially a dry aged steak. As for massaging the cows, they dont even do that in Japan. They keep them in very tight places so the cow cant walk, so it doesnt really build to much muscle and stays very tender. Shes just giving a typical sales pitch.. :/

[@joeyun24]

*insert meme of 'shut up and take my money'"

[@pongd]

Great impression of his colleague!

[@CarlosRodriguez-dd4sb]

I think calling this Korean BBQ is a misnomer to me (not necessarily others). It just seems like table service Wagyu. No Bulgogi, Kalbi, etc. No family/group interaction. Equal dignity, but seems like a tarted up version. Like truffle oil on french fries ;) No doubt dry aged Wagyu is the best beef experience, but this is not the Korean BBQ experience.

[@winstonsuh2831]

Agree! If it wasn't for the Korean side dishes, this scene looks almost exactly like a Japanese grill where they just grill meat in front of you.

[@eekaygames]

Are you guys daft? A lot of places in Korea don't even have bulgogi or kalbi because beef is super expensive there. In fact most just have pork. Some will have beef but you're gonna pay a lot more as the beef is imported from New Zealand. Sorry but say no bulgogi and no kabli means not kbbq is stupid. That's like saying if there's no pho at a Vietnamese restaurant then its not real. The point of this video is to showcase the beef, not the side dishes nor the atmosphere. At what restaurant would you normally eat with the manager or have the manager cook it for you? This is about the meat and meat only because like they said, it is rare for a Korean BBQ place to carry something as expensive as dry-aged beef.

[@keykatVT]

This guy is a legend. Went to KBBQ in a white shirt and didnt ruin it.

[@chrono1logic504]

Gotta admit, that Japchae looked amazing

[@gustogusto4519]

How does this place compare to Cote?

[@george3445]

they for sure went clothes shopping together after this

[@omggiiirl2077]

Japanese American beef, on a supposed Korean crystal grill with a Chinese design. Talk about Pan Asian huh? But Aged beef is not all that, I prefer my meat nice and fresh, with good marbling sure, but even better would be some texture. Koreans love meat with a texture, a bit of ligament, some tendon oh yeah! That's why I love short ribs! and you don't have to use the seasoning on them, they also tastes great with just garlic salt and pepper!

[@LloydSammy]

Thought it was David so at first

[@josephmorales652]

They aren't listed on American Wagyu Associations website... skeptical at the least wagyu.org/consumers/where-to-buy/

[@skyboy123454321]

grilling over that glass thing cant get hotter than grilling over an open charcoal flame

[@ULICKMYBUTCRACK]

yeah it can

[@skyboy123454321]

alrighty

[@ULICKMYBUTCRACK]

Taco gas stoves get much hotter than coals, by far

[@chengmaxc5661]

Do anyone know what is the griller's material made of? ceramic?

[@davidbenitez2709]

I don't know why I don't like this host !!! Lol

[@thatpsychohead]

she so damn cute and lovely too

[@justark2]

Searing does not lock in the juices

[@juandenz2008]

I agree, it's a common but incorrect belief !

[@Mystearicia]

HAH! when Matthew himself inserted a Nick Solares reference

[@QianBing]

Matthew is a pretty great host. Keep up the good work!!!

[@LeePeteZzzaA]

The manager is so cute, but she doesn't look pleased

[@terrybb9413]

Matthew looks like he works at the restaurant with that plain white shirt!

[@Char12403]

Actually looks super realistic

[@dongliang8270]

dude.....

[@kaceysilva22]

She is so cute

[@CThroughYourSoul]

holy fuck matt your impression of nick is spot on

[@merryxmaswarisover]

Where is this location?

[@龍-p8m]

she is just perfect~ splendid :)

[@cabinyim]

How can I purchase my own crystal grill?

[@claudiah3147]

That golden watch though

[@ayemula2807]

This guy really said "That is gangster"

[@ythsh]

yea did you exist in the 90s?

[@guntherleecrossbody3770]

Learned from the Flavor King Fieri himself

[@GobyTSB]

Im not sure about blonde haired koreans, but this lady pulls it off. Very pretty! :D You lookin good too Matthew ;)

[@jeffn.8491]

Which restaurant is this? Is it a Yelp fav.??

[@doubledog61]

Asian host is always the best

[@minroh4753]

If good beef is made from good mood of the cow when being raised, then would the cow be slaughtered in a very fancy style so the marbling on it would not be ruined at the last minute?

[@AbdaSamio]

It wont be an eatery episode until someone says 'funk' at some point.